Latest Featured Hunting Articles

Hunt Year RoundWhen we talk about hunting season, most of us think about turkeys and whitetails, basically because they're the most accessible. Truth is there are loads of other opportunities for every month of the year. Following are a few suggestions.

Why I HuntWe all have our reasons to hunt. Perhaps the first reason, historically anyway, is for food. But there are other reasons, or more reasons to hunt, as well, especially since most of us can deal with the 'food' part at the local grocery store. So here are my reasons to hunt. Some may overlap with yours, some may not, and you may have other reasons. And my reasons might change. Feel free to comment, you may have a different order of reasons.

European Skull Mounts: The Easy WayAfter having seen hundreds of inquiries from members of various hunting web sites asking how to do European Skull Mounts, the idea and appearance of the finished product began to pique my interest. Not wanting though, to go through the mess of boiling the natural skull or use flesh-eating beetles to clean it, either of which would have resulted in my wife JC ejecting me from the house instantaneously, I embarked on a search for a cleaner, more practical way of accomplishing the task.

After the Shot: Deer Tracking TipsYou wait until he's broadside, then, as the big 12-pointer lowers his head; you raise your rifle and centre the crosshairs behind his shoulder. You breathe, control your nerves, and squeeze the trigger... In a perfect world, he'd drop right then and there. But, as any experienced deer hunter knows, that's not always the case.

Still-Hunting: The Woodsman's DanceThough it's certainly no Swan Lake, in a very real sense, still-hunting is the dance of the woodsman. Done properly, it is choreographed and precise. It's planned out so that every movement combines agility, grace, and stealth, so that each step, head turn, and pause serves an artful purpose - to collect venison.

Rattling & Calling Whitetail Deer"Clatter-clack, clatter-clack- clatter" ...as the sound of antler on antler resonated through the woods I sensed something was about to happen! Almost instantly I heard grunting and glimpsed a magnificent buck approaching from my left. Intent on seeing what the commotion was all about, he maintained a brisk pace. At the same time, another, slightly smaller buck could be seen ghosting in from my right. The situation couldn't have been more perfect.

Treestand PlacementYou've just secured the hunting hotspot of a lifetime. You know it holds plenty of deer and even a few big ones to boot! Now comes the award winning question - where do you hang your treestand? Choose the right spot and that monster buck you've been dreaming of could very well materialize before your eyes. Select the wrong tree and you could be in for some serious disappointment!

Camp Food: Eating Right in the BackcountryThere are two schools of thought regarding the menu for a hunting, fishing or camping trip in a remote location - roughing it or eating well. On my recent Alaskan caribou hunt, we ate well - including tundra filet mignon cooked on an innovative grill which folds up to the size of a ruler!

Satellite Bucks: Making the Most of Your GPSNot that long ago, it would take the average hunter a few seasons to truly learn the ins and outs of a new area. Typically, he would gain knowledge of the local topography bit-by-bit, mostly by hunting near obvious landmarks such as watercourses, trails, ridgelines, meadows, and clear cuts. And, for a while, this would work just fine.

Judging DistanceAccurately judging distance is the first step toward proper shot placement. Instinctive or calculated, bowhunters rely on it for close range shooting. Gun hunters count on their ability to estimate longer distances. Over time we all learn our own tricks for calculating distance but with the advent of laser rangefinders many of us won't leave home without them. Regardless of how you go about it, determining yardage can make or break your hunt.

Fall Turkey Hunting Tactics"There is something about running right into the middle of a flock of wild turkeys, screaming like a madman that just doesn't seem natural," I thought to myself as I watched the group of twenty-something hens and jakes fly off the ridge in all directions. For a guy whose turkey hunting experiences had been limited to the spring months, the whole idea of "busting up a flock" didn't make a lot of sense. However, I had been assured that when chasing birds in the fall, it was a perfectly acceptable practice.

Communicating with Big GameMinutes after climbing into my stand I began my calling and rattling sequence. First grunting, then working the antlers, I stared down at the mock scrape I'd been religiously anointing with doe-estrus scent for the previous two weeks. I hadn't even finished my first round of clashing antlers together when I saw a nice buck run in from the heaviest cover. In a magnificent display of dominance all four feet were planted firmly in the center of my scrape as he swung his head back and forth in defiance! My efforts to communicate had sent this buck a clear message and he responded on cue.

Staying Alive While Hunting the Wide Open WestI grew up hunting in the Midwest where a half-hour hike from the road was considered remote and wilderness was any 500-acre section with a single farm house. Getting lost was never a concern, even in an era before cell phones and GPS units. When I was 29 I moved my family to the West. Big game hunting suddenly became a much more serious pursuit, not because I became a more avid hunter, but because I realized that a mistake in the Rocky Mountains or the Western deserts could prove fatal.

Hunter Etiquette & ResponsibilityRespectable hunters live by both a written and an unwritten code. Most of us acknowledge our responsibility to follow the formal and informal rules of etiquette. Webster's dictionary defines etiquette as, "rules governing socially acceptable behavior." Unfortunately there are those among us who choose to ignore etiquette, conducting their hunting activities with only self-serving interests in mind. At a time when our heritage activities are under constant scrutiny it behooves us to heed the importance of etiquette and ethics. As I contemplate this issue I can't help but conclude that it's really all about respect - respecting the law, landowners, the land, as well as non-hunters and hunters alike.

Arrow Repair 101As the wide-racked buck stood stiff-legged at 30 yards checking the wind, I ran through my preshot checklist in my mind: relaxed grip, shoulders straight, kisser button in the corner of my mouth, squeeze the trigger. Everything felt good as the release opened and sent the arrow toward the buck's boiler room. As I watched the arrows arc-like path, my eyes picked up something that I had not seen through the peep sight. Despite my sudden belief in telekinesis and my desperate attempt to alter the arrow's path slightly, the broadhead met with the limb as if it had been the intended target. I could do nothing other than watch as the arrow ricocheted and sent the buck bounding away unscathed. My only consolation was knowing that I would be able to spend more of the off season thinking about hunting as I added another arrow to the pile of those in need of repair.

Bowfishing 101One of the fastest growing outdoor sports in the country right now is bowfishing. Bowfishing is a cross between fishing and bowhunting. Across the United States and the entire world, fish like the common carp, garpike, and Asian flying carp are taking over our rivers and streams. There are very few ways of controlling these invaders, but one way to get rid of a few and have fun at the same time is to shoot them with a bow.

Ladies Guide to Archery and BowhuntingMy eyes locked on the metallic blue of the bow, which hung from a spindle of the coat tree. I navigated the tables of baby clothes, shoes, dishes, puzzles and other items seemingly standard for yard sales. A leather quiver of arrows dangled from a strap next to the bow. "Ten dollars," a man hastened to say as I took the bow by the grip. I held the bow out, sighting at imaginary game over my left fist. I'd never shot at anything, using a bow or a gun, but somehow I envisioned an elk, towering over the tricycle and skateboards in one corner of the yard.

Pronghorn: The Perfect Beginners' Big Game AnimalImagine you were given the assignment of designing a perfect big game hunt for novice hunters. Your objective would be to make the hunt fun and exciting so the new hunter would come away with a lifelong love of hunting and the outdoors. It would be great if the hunt had some exotic appeal, something a little out of the ordinary so the new hunter wants to keep coming back for more. A high probability of success would be essential. No matter their age, beginning hunters don't want to wait several years to harvest an animal.

The Traveling HunterI remember the first time I watched an airline worker load my bow case on a plane. I stared out the window of the 747 and cringed as my bow was tossed around like an old rag. I was on my way to Idaho to hunt elk and I knew that when I arrived, the chances of my bow being in one piece were going to be slim. Sure enough, when my hunting buddy and I showed up at camp and opened our cases, we discovered the sight on my bow was knocked off and the cable guard on his bow was broken off. Fixing our bows took hours and destroyed our shooting confidence on the week long trip. What was supposed to be a great hunting adventure turned into a fiasco because of the gear mishap.

Choosing & Using BinocularsVirtually every big game hunter uses them. They are arguably our most important piece of equipment. Granting a magnified view of distance subjects, binoculars are invaluable; but not every pair mind you. Like most other gear, they are not all created equal. Each is designed for a specific application. Marketing hype leads us to believe that quality is commensurate with cost, but we all know that's not always the case. Popular brands have been on the market for decades but if you follow industry trends you'll notice an interesting shift.

The quandary of all hunters is how do I give myself the best chance to take home a trophy animal after shelling out hundreds of dollars for that coveted tag in another state. I face this issue this year with an Antelope tag in Colorado. Now I know that Antelope should be the easiest tag to fill in NorthWest Colorado. They are everywhere, but how do we give ourselves the best chance to take home that one animal that eludes everyone else. My advice, first and foremost, is don't shoot your...